Electric regulator and alarm for incubators



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.) F. ROSEBROOK. v

'ELBGTRIG REGULATOR AND ALARM FORINGUBATORS. No. 271,991.

E If Patented Feb. 6, 1883.

INVENTOR KTTORNEYS.

.N. PETERS, Phdb-Uihdgraphcn Wlshhgtun, D. C.

v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. F. ROSEBROOK. V ELEGTRIG REGULATOR AND ALARM FORINUUBATORS. No. 271,991.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 6, 1883.

WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.)

a Sh ei'- -Sheet 3.

F. ROSEBROOK. ELEGTRIG REGULATOR AND ALARM FOR INUUBATORS. No. 271,991

- Patented Feb. 6, 1883.

NVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

g4. FUERS, mmum n m. Wuhinmn, n a

l U ITED STATES PATENT Fries.

FRAN K ROSEBROOK, OF ELMIRA, NEW YORK.

ELECTRIC REGULATOR AND ALARM FOR INCUBATORS.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersTatent No. 271,991, datedFebruary 6, 1883,

' Application filed August 3, 1861. (No model.)

I all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK BosEBnooK, of Elmira, in the county of Ohemungand State of New York, have invented a new'and Improved Heat-Regulatorfor Incubators,ofwhich the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to facilitate hatching eggs in anincubator, and to provide accurate and automatically-operating devicesfor regulating the heat and ventilation, so as to prevent thedestruction of the eggs or embryo.

ln the'accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionalelevation of my improved incubator on the line 2 a, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the upper part of the boiler, showing the top plateremoved.Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of my improved incubator on theline or m, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the same onthe line 3; Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the clock-work, showing the arrangement of the brushes or springs and contactstuds. Fig. 6is alongitudmal elevation of the clock-work. Fig. 7 is an end elevationof the same. Fig. 8

'is a'pl'an view of the alarm-thermostat. Fig.

9 is a plan view of the under side of the same. Fig. 10 is a detailcross-sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 11 is a side elevation ofthe pivoted leverof the thermostat for closing the circuitfor operatingthe valve-regulatingmechanism. Fig. 12 is an end elevation of the plateat the end of the valve-operating rod.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre' sponding parts. i Theincubator-casing A is made of wood, with hollow walls, which maybe linedwith paper, felt, 860., or may be filled with some suitablenon-conductor of heat. The casing A is provided with hinged or slidingdoors A and below these it is provided with longitudinal windows A oneend of each of which is open, but can be closed by means of a slide, AThese openings are provided for the purpose of admitting fresh air intothe incubator. Cleats B are hung on pins B on the sides of the casing Aby means of hangers B in such a manner that they will be slightlyinclined from the outside toward the middle longitudinal partitionO. Sothat these cleatsB can be adjusted higher or lower, the hangers B areprovided with two or more apertures through which the pins B can pass.The egg-carrying drawers D rest and slide on these cleats B, and consistof a frame, 0, with a wire-nettin gor perforated or slatted bottom, 0which is divided into a series of compartments or spaces by longitudinalstrips 0 each compartment being of such size as to receive one row ofeggs. The egg-drawers D are so located that they can be passed into thecasing A when the doors A are opened.

The hot-water tank consists of a flat vessel, E, resting on the upperpart of the casing A, and subdivided by longitudinaland transversepartitions E E into a series of channels in which the hot watercirculates. This tank is provided with an opening, I), for theventilation-flue, and a smaller opening", W, for the lever for closingthe electrical circuit for operating the damper-valve. By means of apipe, E this flat tank E is connected with the top of the uprightcylindrical vessel, F, provided with alon gitndinal conical flue, F,below which alamp, G, gas-burner, or other suitable source I of heatrests upon a bracket, G. A pipe, F

leads from the lower part of the cylindrical .vessel F to a serpentinewater-pipe, F in the and uniformly. Flat vessels H, containing water,are placed upon the serpentine pipes F so that the waterin these vesselswill be evaporated, thus producing the moisture required in the casing.

A valve or damper, J, fittingin the-ventilating-flue J, is mounted on arod, J journaled in the sides of this line, and in the casing J of aclock-work on the casing or box A, the wheels of which clock-work engagewith a wheel mounted on the rod J whereby this rod J is revolved and thevalve or damper J will be operated to open or close the flue J.

A disk, K, with two opposite studs, K K, is mounted rigidly on that endof the rod J projecting over the edge'of the casing or box A, above thevessel F. The rectangularlybent upper end of'a rod, K suitably guided onthe sides of the casing, rests upon the studs K K of the disk K, and thelower end ofthis rod K is provided with a damper-plate, cap, 850., Kwhich is held a short distance above the flame of the lamp G. A wheel,L, with four notches, a, is mounted on the rod J within the clock-workcasin g. The bent or hooked end of a spring, L, attached to the pivotedarmature L of an electromagnet, L rests upon this wheel L. The front endof the spring L catches against the flier M of the clock-work, when thearmature L is raised by means of the spring M, resting on a stud, M ofthe clock-work casing, and attached to the aimaturc L 1 A, disk orwheel, N, is rigidly mounted on the rod J adjoining the casing of theclockwork, and this wheel has two studs, N N, projecting toward thecasing J of the clockwork, and has two studs, N N projecti n gin theopposite direction, the studs being separated from each other thedistance of a quadrant, and the two studs of the same side beingseparated the distance of half the circumference. A short arm, 0,projects from the casing J to which is connected the wire Z of theelectro-magnet L in any suitable manner, and from this arm 0 twobrush-wires, O 0, project downward-one at each side of the wheel or diskN. A short insulated bracket, P, projects from the casing J and isprovided with two brush-wires, P P --onc at each side of the disk orwheel Nthe brush-wires O O and P P? being so located that their endswill come in contact with the studs N N N N of the disk when the samerotates. The binding-screws P I? serve to connect the brushwires P Pwith the circuit wires. To complete the circuit, one outer brush-that isto say, a brush on that side of the disk N from the casing J must be incontact with an outer stud. One inner brush-wire-tbat is, a brush-wireon the side of the disk N toward the casing J -must be in contact withan inner stud, forty-five degrees from the outer stud in contact withthe outer brush. The elcctro-magnet L contained within the casing J oftheclock-work, is connected with the battery W, located on the top ofthe casing A, by a wire held by the insulated binding-screw Y of thecasing J The thermostat Q, which is placed on the partition 0 and asnear the egg-drawers as possible, consists of a base, Q, provided with athermometer, Q, to facilitate adjusting the thermostat, and witha'standard,Q to which a sheet-iron strip, R, is fastened, this strip ofsheet-iron having a strip, R, of hard rubber, rivetedfirinly to its"sides. The free end of iron strip Bis located between the points of twoscrews, S S", in standards T T, on a block, S, of insulating material,which slides in a transverse groove in the base Q, and can be adjustedin position by means of the set-screws T T. The standards T T areconnected with the insulated bindingscrews U U by the wires V V, and thebinding-screws U U? are connected with the magnet of an alarm-bell, X,by suitable wires. The non-insulated binding-screw U serves forconnecting the base Q with the battery W. A hardrubber bar, I), is heldrigidly at one end at c, and the other end is attached to a spiraltension-spring, d, and to a pivoted lever, e, which swings between twocontact-screws,ff at the upper ends of the standards g 9 connected withthe battery W, and with the bindingscrews P and Ptot the casing of theclockwork. The several parts herein described as being operated by meansof electricity should be properly insulated from the other parts of theincubator.

warmed mainly by the radiant heat of the under side of the flat vesselE, and for this purpose the egg-drawers must be as near this vest'romthe source of heat, and to enable this I have provided the hangers Bwith a number of apertures. The lower water-pipes, F serve to completethe circulation in the tank E and to evaporate the water contained inthe pans H for producing the necessary quantity of moisture. 'As butvery little moisture is re quired the first week of the incubation,about two-thirds of the top of the pans are closed by covers,whicharegraduallyremovedas theincubation progresses, so that more moisturewill be produced from the now larger surface of water. Ifthe eggs are tobe turned, one drawer is placed inverted upon the drawer containing theeggs, and the two drawers archeld firmly togetherand turned one hundredand eighty degrees. The eggs will then be in the drawer that was placedupon the filled drawer, and the drawer that was formerly filled will nowbe empty. In this way the eggs can be turned without danger and veryrapidly and conveniently. The eggs are to be turned every eight hours.There are two series of drawers, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, andthe eggs must be changed from an upper to a lower drawer every eighthours; but a single drawer may be used as well, the eggs being onlyturned every eight hours. The screwsf f are so adjusted that the lever 6will touch one or the other at certain temperatures. For instance, themachine shall be so adjusted that the temperature shall not rise above104 and not fall below 103%. For this purpose the screw f is so adjustedthat it touches the end of the lever 0 at 104, and the screw f is soadjusted that it touches the lever c after the 104. If the heat rises to104, or the point at which the heat is to be checked, the rubber rod 1)will be lengthened sufficiently to cause the lever e to come in contactwith the pin f, whereby the electric circuit is closed and theelectro-magnet .L attracts its armature L thereby overcoming the powerof the spring M, and when the armature L is attracted by the magnet theouter end of the spring L is heat is decreased one-fourth of a degreefrom The operation is as follows: The eggs are sel as possible, and mustgradually be moved anaiai s drawn downward, thereby releasing the flierM, and the bentendof the spring L is raised out of the notcha, therebyreleasing the wheel L, which is turned in the direction of its arrow;but a moment after thebent end of. the

circum ference of this w heel,) whereby the wheel L is locked inposition, and the outer end of the spring L is raisedsufficiently tocatch the By this quarter-turn ot' the wheel L the rod J has been turnedlikewise, and the lvalveordamperJ, which was closed,is opened, jwherebya draft is created, the air entering flier M released, and the rod J isrotated a' the casing A through theven tilation-openings A and passingoff through the line J. By

this quarter'revolution of the rod J the disk K has also been revolved aquarter-revolution, and the studs K K will be on a horizontal line, andas the upper bent end of the rod K rests on these studs, it is evidentthat the rod K will be lowered, as shown in full lines in Fig. 12, andthe plate K will be lowered and will spread the fla ne'ol' the lamp orburner G, thereby decreasing the heating powerof the same'; or the rod Kcan act upon the gas-cock or wick-ratchets of the lamp or, burner G insuch a manner as to decrease the flame. It the ventilator-valve J isopened andthe flame of the lamp or burner G is decreased, thetemper'aturein the casing will drop in a short time,

thus causing a contraction of the-rod b, whereby the end ot; the lever 6comes in contact with the screw f thus closing the circuit. The armatureL of the magnet L is attracted, the

quarter-revolution in the manner described above, and by thisquarter'revolution the valve J closed again, and the rod K is raised, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 12, the flame of the burner or lamp isincreased, and the temperaturein the casing A will rise. In this mannerthe temperature is regulated automatically. i

If this device should fail to operate and the heat rises above 10l ordrops below 1032?, the thermostat Q will operate the alarm-bell X. Thisthermostat is adjusted in the following manner: The screw S is soadjusted that it will be in contact with the strip R at a temperature atrifle above 1M and the screws" is so adjusted that it will be incontact with the strip R ata temperature a trifle below 103 It the striplt isin contact with the screw 5 "the electric circuitwill be closed,andas follows: from the battery W to post U, the base Q, standard Q stripR, screw 5 wire V post U bell X, and the battery. Ifthe strip R is in.contact with the screw S, the circuit will be similar, as isclearlyunderstood.. If the screwsS S have been adjusted for a certain variationof temperature, but the indications of these variations are to takeplace at adifferent temperature from that at which the screws S S wereadjusted, the screws must not be readjusted, but the insulating-block Sis moved to the right or'left as much as may be required. For instance,it' the thermostat is to indicate variations in temperature ofonefourthof a degree, and is so adjusted that the maximum temperature will be 104and the minimum 103?, and it is desired that this thermostat is toindicate variations of onefourthof a degree, with 98 as a maximum and975 5 as a minimum temperature, the block S is moved toward the left bymeans of the screws T T until the strip R rests against the screw S at atemperature of 98, but the positions of the screws S S in relationitoeach other are not varied.

When the valve or damper Jis open the brush-wire P rests upon the pin Nof the wheel N and the inner wire, 0 rests on the pin Nfland if thecireuitis closed by means of the lever 0 these wires form aconnectioniofthe circuit through the wheel N. Now, ifithis wheelturns in thedirection of its arrow, the pins N and N pass from under the ends of thewires P and O and the circuit is broken, even ifthe lever e is still incontact with the corresponding contactscrew withv which it has closedthe circuit; but. as the wheel Ncompletes its quarter-rotation the pinsN and N pass under the wires P and 0, with. which they remain incontact, thus forming a circuit through the wheel N. 'Now, it the lever0 comes in contact with the opposite contactscrew, the circuit willagain be closed and the clock-work will be released, and so on. Thiscircuit is completed .by the wiresP and 0 and the pins N N, and afterthe next quarter-revolution by the wires 1? and O and the have seen,alternately comes in contact with the pins f and f 2 as the temperaturerises and falls. I thus arrange a double electric circuit in combinationwith the clock-work, both of which circuits are opened and are closed bythe lever acted upon by a thermostat, and'by means of the wires and pinsdescribed above.

The space below the serpentine pipes F in the casing is used as atemporary nursery for the young chickens.

Thematter in the above specification relating to the incubator properwill be made the subject. of a subsequent application for patent.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- 1. Thecombination, with a clock-work, of therotating rod J the notched wheel L, the spring L, resting thereon, thearmature L attached to the spring L, the electro-magnet L and the springM, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose setforth.

2. The combination, with the hard-rubber rod 1), of the spring cl, thestandards g g, and the lever e, pivoted thereto and acted upon by therod 11, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purposeset forth.

3. The combination, with the valve-operating mechanism, of thehard-rubber rod 1), bracket 0, spring d, vibrating lever 0, standards 9g and adjusting contact-screws ff the circuit extending through f,binding-post 1?, brush-' wire P disk N, binding post Y, battery W, andlever e, and the circuit extending through f binding-post P brush-wireP, disk N, binding-post Y. battery W, and lever 0, whereby the twoseparate circuits are closed respectively at maximum and minimumtemperatures, substantially as specified.

4:. In an incubator, the combination, with the valve-operatingmechanism, of the rotating rod J carrying the valve or damper J, thedisk K, provided with pins K, and the rod K provided with regulator Kwhereby the effective heat of lamp G or its equivalent is diminished andrestored, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination of the hard-rubber rod 1), bracket 0, spring d,vibrating lever 0, standards g g, and adjusting-screwsff, substantiallyas shown and described.

6. In a valve -regulator, the combination, with aseries of pairs ofcontact-studs projectingfrom a disk mounted on the rotating valverod,ofa series of pairs of brush-wires connected with the battery and anelectro-magnet by suitable devices, and clock mechanism for rotatingsaid rod J, substantially as here.- in shown and described, and for thepurpose set forth.

' 7. In a valve-regulator, the combination with the clock-work casing J,'ot'- the arm 0, the insulating-bracl set I, the binding-screws P P,the brushes?" P 0 0 the valve-rod J the disk N, provided with studs N NN N, the electro-magnet L and clock mechanism, substantially as hereinshown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination, with the base Q, ofthe insulated block S, sliding ina groove in the end of the base of the standards'T T thethermostat-plate B It, and the wires V V, connecting the lower ends ofthe standards with the binding-screws U U, substantially as herein shownand described, and for'the purpose set forth.

9. The combination, with a clock work or like motor, of the rod J, thenotched disk L, the electro magnet, a device for connecting theelectro-magnet'with the disk, the damper or door, and thecircuit-closer, substantially as shown and described.

10. The combination, with two separate electric circuits and athermostat, of a damper or door secured to an oscillatory rod, J andmechanism for oscillating said rod, substantially as shown anddescribed.

FRANK ROSEBROOK.

